Inland job rolls lead SoCal

WYATT HAUPT - Staff Writer

Inland Empire job rolls climbed higher in March largely on the
strength of three sectors, business services, leisure and trade,
the California Employment Development Department reported Friday.
However, continued weakness in the government sector tempered those
increases in the period.

Employment rosters in all industries in Riverside and San
Bernardino counties advanced 1.5 percent to 1,122,900 in March,
compared with 1,106,800 in March 2003, the monthly survey showed.
Meanwhile, unemployment edged up to 5.7 percent from 5.6 percent in
the same period.

Separately, the jobless rate in Riverside County was 5.7 percent
and 5.6 percent in San Bernardino County.

"This is a very disappointing report given the fact that the
national report has been so strong," said economist John Husing
referring to domestic labor data that showed the economy added
308,000 jobs in March. "I really expected we would see stronger
numbers in the Inland Empire and clearly we did not get them."

Husing, who has covered the Inland Empire economy for about 40
years, said that the government sector continues to hinder job
growth in the area, something he said is largely an extension of
the state's budget woes. He said cutbacks in state funding are
having an impact on that sector.

The state and local government sector lost 4,000 jobs in the
year-over-year period, the department reported.

"Thank you -- state Legislature," Husing said.

On the upside, strong growth was notched in the trade,
transportation and utilities sector (up 8,800), professional and
business services sector (up 5,100) and the leisure and hospitality
sector (up 3,000). Also posting a solid increase in the period was
construction (up 2,700) and financial activities (up 2,600).

Michael Bazdarich, a senior economist with the UCLA Anderson
Forecast, said that when he factors out the government sector his
figures show the private sector has added about 10,000 jobs in the
first three months of the year. Given that the state has added
about 35,000 jobs at the same time, he said the Inland Empire's
share of that figure was strong.

"In the private sector, we got almost a third of that growth,"
Bazdarich said.

All told, the Inland Empire's increase in employment numbers was
the best of the five metropolitan statistical areas in Southern
California edging out San Diego County, which added 13,400 jobs in
the same period. The unemployment rate in San Diego County dipped
to 4.1 percent in March from 4.3 percent in March 2003.

In Orange County, the jobless rate fell to 3.6 percent from 3.9
percent in the same period. Imperial County posted the highest
unemployment rate in Southern California last month at 17.6
percent, up from 14.5 percent in March 2003, the data showed.

That ranked 54th of the 58 counties in the state. Colusa County
had the highest unemployment rate last month at 25.5 percent.